Article of footwear and corrective sole therefor



g 3, 1948-. H. 1.. WHITMAN 2,446,448

ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR AND CORRECTIVE SOLE THEREFOR Filed Oct. 18, 1946 I V E My; I-E

' jz 'ir Patented Aug. 3, 1948 ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR AND CORRECTIVE SOLE THEREFOR Hyman L. Whitman, East Bridgewater, Mass, as-

signor to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application October 18, 1946, Serial No. 703,951

12 Claims.

- This invention relates to an article of footwear and to an outer supporting element adapted for use therein, and particularly to a supporting element for the outer edge of the foot for use with shoes provided with a unified sole arch support.

The present application is concerned particularly with an outer supporting element to be used in conjunction with an arch support such as is disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,938,127, granted to me December 5, 1933, or with a unified sole arch support as set forth in U. S. Pategit No. 2,054,151, granted to me September 15, '1 36.

The principal objects of this invention are to equalize the rotational effect on the foot imparted by an arch support, to control the calcaneal: twist imparted to the heel by the inclined heel element, to provide a cushion for the sensitive area at the base of the fifth metatarsal of the Wearers foot, and to distribute the body weight so as to give the correct three point pressure distribution on the plantar surface of the foot.

The use of an inclined arch support and inclined heel element in cases of pronation of the arch has been discussed at length in the patent previously referred to. The principle involves correctly supporting the tripod construction of a foot consisting of the os calcis, the scaphoid and the astragulus. The corrective effect is attained by means of a relatively non-resilient heel element inclined downwardly from the inner border of the sole directly under the os calcis. A resilient arch support member coincidentally abuts the forward edge of the heel element along a reversely curved line extending inwardly from the inner border of the sole, forming a recess at the area of sensitivity of the plantafascia tendon, which extends longitudinally through the arch. The arch support member is preferably higher than the heel element at the abutting edge, with the greatestheight differential being at the inner border of the sole to provide for wearing adjustment at first.

Such a sole arch support is designed to correct pronation caused by an inward rotation and fiattening of the os calcis, scaphoid and astragulus.

the bodyweight along the entire lateral outer border f the foot due to the calcaneal twist imparted to the heel. This effect is especially noticeable at the base of the fifth metatarsal, which is in many cases an extremely sensitive area. The present invention involves the use of an outer supporting element to minimize the rolling sensation caused by the arch support, to control the degree of calcaneal twist, and to provide sup port for the foot along the outer lateral border in such a way as to distribute the body weight at three clearly defined points on the plantar surface of the foot, whereby the base of the fifth metatarsal is relieved of an undue burden and is cushioned to relieve the sensitiveness in that region.

The invention is best understood by reference to a preferred embodiment, as shown by the accompanying drawing of which:

Fig. l is a plan view of the inner face of a sole having thereon an arch support member, a heel element, and an outer supporting element; part of the sole being broken away for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a sole prepared in accordance with this invention and illustrating the respective elevations of the corrective elements;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the preferred shape of the outer supporting element;

and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the re,- lation of the outer supporting element to the bony structure ofa foot located on the sole.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated by the accompanying drawing, a sole In is built up of alternate layers of rubber H and square woven fabric l2, although any of the conventional sole constructions may be used. Suitably oriented on the normal upper face l3 of the sole ID are an arch support member I4, a heel element [5, and an outer supporting element IS. The arch support member l4 and the heel element iii are disposed in the marginal region adjacent to the inner border I! of the sole i0 and are raised above the normal upper face It of the sole along this border from which border they slope downwardly toward the outer border 18 of the sole In to converge with the normal thickness of the sole l0 along a feather edge Hi.

The arch support member I4 is preferably of :a resilient material such as a sponge rubber, so as to exert a rotating action on the foot while having a degree of resiliency to cushion the base of the first metatarsal and the plantafascia tendon. The rear edge 20 of the member i4 is preferably recessed inwardly from the inner border i! of the sole it toward the outer border 18 thereof in a reversely curved edge which coincidently abuts the forward edge 2! of the heel, element This revers'ely curved edge allows the heel element E5 to extend forward along 'the inner border I! of the sole to the point at which the plantafascia tendon dips sharply downwardly toward the plantar surface of the foot.

The heel element I5 is preferably of a relatively non-resilient material, such as hard rubber, so as to provide a firm support to elevate and-rotate the cs calcis 22, astragulus 23 and sc a'phoid 724' toward the outer border i 8 of the sole Hi prevent-' ing pronation to the inner border l-l. "The-heel is skived downwardly and away from the inner border H in the same manner as the arch support member I4, and converges with the normal upper face 13 of the sole along acommon longitudinal feather edge is with the arch support member l4.

The use of an inner border support such as has just been described rotates the foot toward the outer border thereof and gi-vesrthe wearer a rolling sensation. The heel element, in particular, imparts what is commonly referred to as calcaneal twist to the heel. Such aconstructio'n'relieves the undue pressure which is exerted on the i'nner border of the foot due to prona'tion of the arch, but'in so 'doinggives somewhat faulty weight distribution on the outer border of the feet. This is "especially noticeable in the sensitive area of the base of the fifth metatarsal 25. I have discovered that the objections enumerated are overcome by the use of an outer supporting member I6 disposed in the marginal region adascent to the outer border l8 of the sole.

The outer 'siip'porting element is preferably of a resilient materialsuch as sponge rubber so as to cushion the base of the fifth metatarsal 25 as well as to provide lateral support for the foot. =In the'p'r'eferred embodiment as shown in l ig. 5,the outer supporting element presents an essentially planar upper face 26 adapted to lie essentially parallel to the normal upper face 13 of the sole l ll. planar surface 26 extends inwardly from the essentially linear outeredge 21 of the element along which edge the element 16 is of maximum vertical thickness. The upper face of the element slopes sharply downwardly from the inner border 28 of the planar surface 26 to an arcuate feather edge 2-9 which forms the inner edgeof the element,'whereby-the supporting eleiiiii'tfCOhverges w'ith the normal thickness 'of the sole 1 0.

The outer'supportingelement l 6 is disposed lat- "e'rallyto the arch support element :M'on the sole 10 "with the longitudinal axis of the outer element being generally parallel to the longitudinal axis for "the sole. The planar upper face -26 ex'tends inwardly for a suiiicient distance to extend under'thebase of the fifth metatarsal of a foot located on the sole. At the widest part of the supportingelement'the arcuate edge -29 thereof abuts the feather edge ll! of the 'arch support member II. Thus the arch of the foot is cradled between the sole arch support and the ooter lateralsupport.

oute'r supporting element controls the degree'o'f carcaneai twist imparte'd'by theinclined inne'rborder portion and thus prevents excessive rotation of the foottoward theouter border. The raised planar surface "of the element shifts the primer.

body weight forward along the outer border and the complete sole assembly gives a clearly defined three-point weight distribution on the plantar surface of the foot, as indicated by the dotted line 30 of Fig, 1 with the pressure points being at points 3|, 32 and 33, respectively. This relieves'the sensitivity in there'g'ion at the base of the fifth metatarsal and the resilient material comprising the supporting element further acts as a cushion for that area.

The :outer supporting element does not and is not intended to support the cuboid bone 34, as can readily be seen from Fig. 6. The effect of the element on the cuboid is negligible since the support is not localized at that point, the only upward thrust on the cuboid being that transmitted from the fifth metatarsal through the articulation of the metatarsal with the cuboid.

The outer supporting element may be used in any case where it is desired to control the calcanealtwist of the heel, and the outward rotation of the foot, while the sole arch supportdesc'ribed in detail is preferably used in combination with the outer supporting element. The element may be used in conjunction with any inner border support. The element is preferably of a resilient material-so as to cushion'the sensitive base of the fifth metatarsal. Sponge rubber is preferably used, but any suitable relatively -'resilient material such as soft cork, -soft vulcanized rubber, or similar materials may be used if'desired. The invention may be embodied in any type of footwear where an arch support is used.

In the preferred embodiment for use in tennis shoes and the like, the arch support member, heel element, andouter supporting element are sandwiched in below the top layer of 'fab'ric on the sole. If desired, a protective s'hieldof a material impervious to p'erspiraticnmay'be used 'a's an upper face for'the sole as a whole-or for the correctiveelement. The sole itself may comprise a resilient soft rubber, in which case the arch support member and outer supporting element may'comprise'molded raised portions on the sole Similarly, if the sole -'is of a substantially non-resilientmateriaL'the heel element inay comprise an integral "molded portion of the sole proper.

The invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain =pre'ferred embodiments, but it will beunderstood that the outer supporting element may be constructed of any suitable *resilient material; the shape thereof may be changedor modified if done so in view of'the principles alreadyset forth and the objectives to be attained by use "of the element; the outer "supporting element maybe incorporated in an insole, "or may be used as -'a separate element, and other similar variations and modifications maybe'efiected without departing 'fromthe spirit and sc'ope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A supporting ele'me'ht in'combination with a. sole and arch support member, said element beinglat'erally disposed in the oute'rmarginal region of said sole generally opposite said support memher and comprising-a raisedportion in said region presenting a, raised generally planar surface substantially parallel to the sole face supporting the baseof the fifth metatarsal and sloping downwardly 'to "the face of said sole portion along the inner edg'eof'said element.

2. resiliehtelement in combination with a sole and arch support member, said eleirierit being-disposed in the region of the sole below the base of the fifth metatarsal and comprising a raised portion along the outer longitudinal marginal region of said sole opposite said arch support member'presenting a raised generally planar surface substantially parallel to the'sole face and supporting the base of the fifth metatarsal and sloping downwardly from said raised portion to converge with the face of said sole portion along the-inner edge of said element.

3. A combination corrective sole and outer supporting element, said sole having a raised'me'mher on the upper face along-the inner border thereof sloping downwardly therefrom towards the outer border thereof to converge with the normal thickness of said sole, said outer sup {porting element being disposed in the outer mar- ..ginal region of said sole laterally to said raised portion and comprising a resilient element projecting above the normal face of the sole presenting a raised generally planar surface substantially parallel to the sole face supporting the base of the fifth metatarsal and sloping'downwardly along the inner edge of said element to converge with the normal upper face of 'said sole.

4. A combination corrective sole and outer supporting element, said corrective sole comprising a raised heel element on the upper face thereof having the highest portion of the said heel element at the inner border of said sole and sloping downwardly towards the outer border of said sole, the forward edge of said heel element being reversely curved inwardly from the inner border of said sole towards the outer border thereof, said corrective sole further comprising an arch support member having the rear edge thereof coincidently abutting the reversely curved edge of said heel element and being of different height and resiliency than said heel element, said arch support member comprising a raised portion along the inner border of said sole tapering downwardly towards the outer border thereof to converge with the normal thickness of said sole, said supporting element being disposed in the outer marginal region of said sole laterally to said arch support member and comprising a resilient raised portion presenting a raisedgenerally planar sur face substantially parallel to the sole face supporting the base of the fifth metatarsal and sloping downwardly along the inneredge thereof to converge with said sole.

5. A sole having associated therewith an arch support member, a corrective heel element and an outer supporting element, said arch support memher and heel element comprising abutting raised portions in the inner marginal region of said sole and sloping downwardly from the inner border of said sole towards the outer border thereof to converge with the normal thickness of said sole, said outer supporting element comprising a resilient element disposed in the region below the fifth metatarsal of a foot located thereon, said resilient element extending generally longitudinally in said region and comprising a raised surface along the outer border of said sole presenting a raised generally planar surface substantially parallel to the sole face and supporting the base of the fifth metatarsal and being skived along the inner edge of said element to converge with the normal thickness of said sole.

6. An outer supporting element in combination with .a corrective sole comprising an arch support member and a corrective heel element, said arch support member and heel element being disposed in coincidently abutting relation on '6 u the inner'marginal region of the upper face of said sole with the abutting rear edge of the arch support member being "recessed in a reversely curved manner inwardlyfrom the inner border of said sole, said arch'support member and heel element presenting surfaces raised above the normal face of said sole with the highest point on each'respective surface being adjacent to the inner border of said sole from which said surfaces slope downwardly toward'the outer border of said sole to converge at a feather edge with the normal thickness of said sole, said supporting element comprising a resilient element disposed longitudinally in the marginal region of said sole adjacent to the outer border thereof, said supporting element presenting a raised essentially planar surface extending substantially parallel to the normal thickness of said sole from the outer bor der thereof to the region beneath the fifth metatarsal of a footlocated thereon and thereafter sloping downwardly to a' feather edge along the inner edge of said element whereby said edge converges with the normal thickness of said sole.

' 7. Anouter supporting element for shoes comprising a resilient material presenting an essentially planar upper face extending inwardly from the essentially linear outer edge thereof along which edge said element is of maximum vertical thickness, said upper face being generally parallel to the plane of the lower face of said element, said element tapering downwardly from the inner border of said essentially planar surface to the substantially arcuate feather edge which comprises the inner edge of saidelement.

8; A corrective sole comprising an arch support member, a'heel element and an outer supporting element, said arch support member comprising a, resilient raised portion skived inwardly from the outer border of said sole at which border said member is of maximum vertical thickness, said arch support member having the rear edge thereof recessedfrom the inner border of said sole towards the outer border thereof in a reversel'y' curved edge which coincidently abuts the forward edge of the said heelelement, said heel element comprising i a relatively non-resilient raised portion'skived downwardly from the inner border 'of saidsole where said element is of maximum vertical thickness towards'the outer border'thereof where said element converges with the normalupper face of said sole along a feather edge, said outer supporting element comprising a resilient element disposed longitudinally in the outer marginal region ofsaid sole and presenting an essentially planar upper face extending inwardly from the essentially linear outer edge thereof along which edge said element is of maximum vertical thickness to the region beneath the fifth metatarsal of a foot located thereon, said element tapering downwardly from the inner border of said essentially planar surface to the substantially arcuate inner edge of said element wherein said supporting element converges with the normal upper face of said sole.

9. An article of footwear comprising a combination corrective sole and outer supporting element, said sole having a raised member on the upper face along the inner border thereof sloping downwardly therefrom toward the outer border thereof to converge with the normal thickness of said sole, said outer supporting element being disposed in the outer marginal region of said sole laterally to said raised portion and comprising a resilient element projecting above the normal face of the sole presenting a raised amed 1 generally planar: suriace; substantially parallel to the sole face'supportingvthe baseof thefifth metatarsal and sloping downwardly alongv the inner edgeof said elementto convergewith the normal; upper face of saidsole;

:10. 'An article of --footwear comprising. a-corrective sole and outershpportingelement, said corrective sole comprisinga raisedheel element on the. upper face thereof; haying thehighest. portionof the said? heel element at the inner'border of said *sole and sloping downwardly 1 toward the outerwborde'r of saidsolethe forward .edge of said heel element beingreversely curved inward- 1y" the inner border-of said-sole toward the outer border thereof, saideorreetive sole further comprising an archsupportmember'havirrg the rear edge thereof coincidently abutting the reverse'ly curved edge of said-:heel element and beingof different: height and resiliency-than said heetelement. said-arch support member com-pris ing a raised portion along the inner border of said sole taperingdownwardiy toward the outer bordei thereof tomonverge with: the normal thickness 1 of said sole, said. supporting element being disposed inthe outer marginal region of said sole laterally to said -areh: -s-upport member I and comprising la resilient raised portion presenting a raised 'generally planarsurface substantially parallel-to the-sole face supporting the base of the fifth metatarsal and sloping downwardly along the inner .edge thereof to nonverge with said sole. 1

(1-1. An article of -footwear: comprising an upp r, anouter supper-ting element, and a corrective sole which comprises an archssup-port member and. a correctiveheel element, said arch support member and' heelelement being disposed i-nooi-neidently abutting relation: on the inner marginal region of the upper face of said sole with the abuttingrear edge ofthe arch supportmemher being -recessed-in a reversely curved mannerinward-ly from-the-inner borderof said sole,,-said.-arch sup- .lport member and heel element presenting surfaces ;raised above the normal face of said sole with the highest .point. on each respectivesurface bei-ng adjacent to the inner border of said sole from whichborder-saidsurfacesslope downward- 15! toward the-outer berder ot-said sole to converge eta feather edge with the normal thickness of said -sole, said ,-'supporting element comprising -a resilient element *disposed -,longitudinall-y in the marginal regionofsaidwsole adjacentto the outer rborder thereof, said supporting element presenta--naised.=essential1yiplanar. surface extending substantially parallel to the normal upper face of said: sole from the outer border thereof to the regionbeneaththefifth metatarsal of a foot located thereonend thereafter sloping downwardly to a feather edge along the. inner edge of said element whereby'said'edge-converges with the normal thickness ofsaid sole.

12. An article of footwear comprising a corrective-'sole'andx an upper, said corrective sole comprising an arch support member, a heel element and an outer supporting element, said arch support member comprising a resilient-raised portion skived inwardly, from the outer border of said sole at which border said. member is'of maximum verticalthiekness, said arch support member having the rear edge thereof recessed from the inner border of said sole toward the outer border thereof-in a reversely curved edge which coincidently abuts the forward edge of the said heel element, said-heel element com-prising a relatively non-resilient raised portion skived down-wardly from the inner border of said sole where said element is of maximum vertical thickness toward theouter bordert-hereof where said element converges with the normal upper face of said sole along-a feather edge, said outer supporting element comprising a'resilient element disposed longitudinally in the outer marginal region of said sole, and presenting an essentially planar upper face extending inwardly from the essentially linear outer edge thereof along which edge said element is of maximum vertical thickness to the region beneath the fifth metatarsal of a foot 10- oated thereon, saidelement tapering downwardly from the inner border of said essentially planar surface to the'substantially arcuate inner edge of said element-wherein said supporting element converges with the normal upper face of said sole.

HYMAN L. WHITMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS .Grreat Britain Feb. 3, 192'? 

